1/22/11 Rangers vs. Thrashers

Your guess is as good as mine.

Rangers against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Another must win game for the Rangers will take place tonight in Atlanta. Atlanta and New York are separated by 3 points in the Eastern Conference, and both are looking to get a leg up on one another. The Rangers are +21 in the goals for/goals against ratio, while Atlanta is -8. The Rangers, who romped Toronto earlier this week 7-0, got pushed back by Carolina two days ago by the score of 4-1. With the extenuating list of injuries on the team, many rookies have been brought up to fill some gaps. Most recently, Chad Kolarik was called up, and for the most part played well for a rookie in the game against the Hurricanes. However, with this many rookies on the lineup, the scoring is going to start to be a little more scarce.

The Mistfit Blackhaw... excuse me, the Atlanta Thrashers have been up and down this season. With more cohesiveness on this team than ever before, and leadership from Dustin Byfuglien, the Thrashers are making waves in the Eastern Conference. However, they also have some injury problems of their own. Andrew Ladd missed practice due to illness, and Chris Mason and Fredrik Modin are on injured reserve at the moment.

My Diagnosis


The Thrashers beat the Rangers 6-4 earlier this season by a score of 6-4 at the Garden. Martin Biron was in net for the Rangers that time, so I do not expect him to be in net tonight in Atlanta. Also, in the past four times the Rangers have been to Atlanta, they haven't lost in regulation going 2-0-2. In conclusion, I believe the Rangers are going to pull out at least one point tonight. The Rangers, while they are quite depleted, have some weapons left after all the injuries, so in order for them to win, they'll need to show their worth tonight in Atlanta.

My Predictions


Rangers win 2-1

Dustin Byfuglien will get the Thrashers on the board first early in the 1st period.
Derek Stepan will score the first goal for the Rangers in the 2nd period.
Brian Boyle will get the game winning goal also in the 2nd.

Enjoy the game!